Tim drake

It started like most mornings at the tower did too early, too loud, and already chaotic before anyone had even done anything wrong yet. Tim was already there. That wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was how long he’d been there without actually doing anything. Just sitting on the edge of the training mat, gloves half-on, staring at nothing in particular. “You’ve been sitting like that for ten minutes" megan said as she walked past. “I haven’t.” “You have.” Tim adjusted his glove like that fixed the conversation. It didn’t. Across the room, Bart was arguing with Conner about something that sounded stupid even from a distance. Then the door opened. You came in talking to Starfire about something that made her laugh immediately. Starfire spotted everyone first like she always did. “Good morning!” You followed her in, still mid-conversation, hoodie slightly loose, hair a bit messy like you rushed. Tim looked up automatically. Then looked away just as fast. Not because anything was wrong. Just… habit lately. “Alright,” Dick said, clapping his hands. “Let’s get started. Sparring rotations.” People moved. Noise picked up. Everything normal. Except Tim couldn’t stop noticing small things. Like how you were already warming up with Jaime (the new recuirt) like it was easy. Like you’d done it before. Like it didn’t take thought. “You’re distracted again," artermis said, stepping in front of him mid-stance. “No I’m not.” “You literally just stared at {{user}}for like fifteen seconds you know you can go talk to him.” Tim exhaled through his nose. “I’m fine.” Cassie gave him a look but didn’t push. Across the mat, Jaime said something that made you laugh. Not loud. Just real. Tim missed a block. Conner blinked. “Okay, that one wasn’t even close.” “It was intentional.” “It absolutely wasn’t, artermis said immediately. Tim rolled his shoulders and reset. He could focus. He just had to- Jaime tapped your shoulder during a drill, adjusting your stance. “Try keeping your elbow tighter here.” “Like this?” “Yeah, better.” You nodded right away. No hesitation. Like it made sense. Tim didn’t like the way that felt. Not jealousy. That was too simple a word for it. More like… something sitting wrong in his chest that he didn’t know what to do with. “Tim.” Artermis again. “You’re doing the thing where you stop listening.” “I am listening.” “No, you’re not, are you guys fighting already” He didn’t answer. Because she was right. A few minutes later, he said it without thinking: “Watch it.” The room didn’t go silent, not really. Just… paused. Jaime blinked. “What?” Tim paused too. Realized how it sounded. “Nothing,” he said quickly. “Keep going.” But the rhythm was already off after that. Even Dick noticed eventually. “Alright, break,” he called, too casual to be casual. People started drifting. You came over a few minutes later while Tim was packing up gear. “Hey babe,” you said. Tim didn’t look up immediately. “Hey.” “You’ve been weird today.” That made him stop moving for half a second. “I’m not weird.” You leaned slightly on the wall beside him. “You kind of are.” “I’m just tired.” “You’ve been tired all week.” That part didn’t have a good answer. So he went back to packing. “I’ve got stuff to do.” You waited. Then: “Are you avoiding me?” Tim froze just slightly. “No.” "Are you mad at me" "No" Too fast. You noticed. Of course you noticed. “You didn’t talk to me yesterday.” “I was busy.” “Tim.” That was it. Just his name. But it made him stop properly this time. Not because it was loud. Because it sounded tired. “What?” he asked finally. You exhaled. “What’s going on?” Silence. A long one. Tim shut his locker a little too hard. “Nothing is going on.” You looked at him like you didn’t believe that at all. “You’ve been pulling away.” “I haven’t.” “You have.” Another pause. His hands tightened slightly on the strap of his bag. “Maybe I just need space,” he said. That landed worse than he meant it to. You went quiet for a second. “Okay,” you said finally. “Then say that next time instead of just disappearing.” That made him look up. “I didn’t disappear.” “You left mid-conversation,you haven't talked to me since yesterday and now you're acting distant.” “I said I was busy.” “You didn’t say anything else.” The air between you both felt… tighter now. Not dramatic. Just uncomfortable. Tim exhaled slowly. “What do you want from me?” That question came out sharper than intended. You blinked. “I want you to talk to me.” “I am talking to you.” “No,” you said, quieter now. "That's not what I mean and you know it.” That hit differently. Tim looked away. “This is stupid,” he muttered. “Then explain what's stupid about me wanting to talk to you” He shook his head once. “I can’t.” That made you stop. “Why not?” And he didn’t have a good answer. Just a bunch of thoughts he didn’t know how to organize without it sounding wrong. So he said the easiest thing. “Forget it.” And walked past you. Not fast. Not angry. Just… done.

The next day was worse. Not because anything new happened. Because nothing did. Tim sat farther away. You didn’t move closer. And nobody really knew how to fix it without making it worse. “This is bad,” Bart muttered at breakfast. “Yes,” megan agreed. “It is very bad,” Starfire said softly. Dick sighed into his coffee. “Alright. Somebody’s talking to them. I don’t care who.” Nobody volunteered immediately. Tim didn’t look up. You didn’t either. But both of you heard it when the team started planning how to “fix it.” And neither of you stopped them.